Human Alchemy
by SlimWriter
Summary: Roman Torchwick receives a box with items that will allow him to perform an experiment diving into the realms of something once considered pure fantasy. But when his experiment works, he must figure out a way to hide his success from his boss and what to do with the unintended product.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hey, guys. So this was actually only recently a thing in my head. I was planning to shift my schedule of fanfics around because I didn't have any ideas that were developed well enough for my liking. Those ideas will still be coming, but not any time soon. This is mostly to keep you guys satisfied with some kind of material until I can get one of the bigger ideas figured out. This one won't be that long, it'll probably be shorter than The Rose and the Candle. But hopefully you guys enjoy this as much as that one. I'm still surprised by how many people liked that one. With that said, one with the story…**

Human Alchemy

It was late in the night in Vale. Most of the city's inhabitants had long retired to their beds and pleasant dreams. Sure, there were always night owls who preferred the night and got most of their activity done during that time, but there were very few of them out and about. If they were, they were most likely at Junior Xiong's place dancing the night away. In any case, it was good that there were few out and about, especially tonight.

Roman Torchwick was waiting with a couple of Xiong's borrowed men and his little helper, Neopolitan, in an alleyway in downtown Vale. Here, where there were a lot of overpasses and tall buildings, it was easy to hide criminal activity. Roman was expecting a delivery soon. A delivery he had to keep hidden from his current boss, Cinder Fall, and that wasn't an easy task. This woman seemed to know everything that was going on, whether you tried to keep it hidden or not. But this was not something she needed to know about. It was a wonder Roman managed to keep it a secret. Something told him she already knew but wasn't going to say anything until after tonight's transaction. _I swear, that woman has the worst timing._

Roman was pacing back and forth, smoking on one of his favorite cigars. Neo was standing over by a wall with her parasol slung over her shoulder. Junior's boys were just leaning against a wall or sitting on the ground waiting for some action to happen. One was even throwing rocks down the alley away from the rest.

"When is this guy going to show up?" one of the goons leaning on the wall asked with impatience.

"He'll show up when he gets here. Now, I'm not paying any of you to complain, so shut up!" Roman answered.

The goon just shook his head and went back to being bored. Several minutes passed before a new figure approached the group in the alleyway. He wore a mess of an outfit, his trench coat torn along the bottom with patches of ash and burns and a layer of dust all over. His fedora was equally dirty and also a little worse for wear. In his hands, held in front of him, he carried a rather small box. His beard was gray and unkempt, with equally unkempt hair sticking out from under his fedora. He stopped in front of Torchwick and looked up at him.

"I have what you requested, sir," he said in a raspy voice.

"Good. I have the Lien you wanted for this job. But before I hand it over, I want to be sure you have exactly what I wanted."

"I can assure you, the items are in here."

"A verbal confirmation isn't going to cut it. I need you to open that box and show me visual proof that everything's there."

"This must be an important project for you."

"Just open it and show me," Roman said with great annoyance as he tightly gripped the hook of his cane.

"Very well," the old man said as he opened the box up. Roman peered in as the man opened it.

Roman looked for a solid minute and then said, "Well. Looks like you didn't disappoint. Neo?"

The girl perked up and skipped over to her boss. "Give the good man the Lien I promised."

Neo reached to her belt and pulled out a bag of Lien. She handed it to the old man and walked back behind her boss. The old man opened the bag and counted the Lien inside before splitting his mouth into a wide toothy grin.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Torchwick," he said as he handed the box to Roman and made his exit out of the alleyway.

"Yeah. Sure," Roman said as he gestured for his crew to leave.

Neo walked alongside her boss as the returned to the hideout, looking at the box he carried with a curious look on her face. Torchwick noticed her expression.

"Consider this as a little experiment, Neo. We're about to dabble in forces that only our boss knows about."

Neo's expression turned from one of curiosity to concern. If these were the forces she thought they were, then she didn't like where this was headed.

"Don't worry about it, Neo," Roman tried to reassure her. "I know my plans tend to blow up in smoke (sometimes literally), but I have a good feeling about this one."

Neo just shook her head slowly. She knew her boss had grandiose plans that more often than not ended up failing miserably, but this may be a bit too much, even for him. And she would always be there to tell him 'I told you so'. Well, not literally tell him, but he'd get the idea. She always had those handheld signs she made to fall back on.

As the crew of criminals made their way back to their hideout, none were aware of the two figures silently making their way across the surrounding rooftops following them. They moved close together, never straying too far from each other, but never losing sight of the criminals underneath them.

"Are you sure you got that exchange?" the female figure whispered to her partner.

"Of course, I did. I've never failed in our duties yet," the male responded.

"I wonder what this story has in store for us," the female whispered.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure the aides will like it," her male counterpart whispered back in response.

"We'll just have to see," the woman responded.

The two figures followed Torchwick's crew until they reached the warehouse where they had set up shop. Neo led the way into the warehouse, followed by Xiong's men. Torchwick was the last to enter, checking around to make sure they weren't followed. The figures had disguised themselves into the shadows of the night to avoid detection. They let their disguises down when Torchwick entered the building.

"Did you see what was in the box?" The woman asked her partner.

"No. But he seems to think it's important. Whatever it is."

"Hmm. We'll just see where it goes."

"That is our job, after all."

"True."

The two figures parted ways and disappeared into the shadows, off to observe other players in this new game.

 **AN: Not the best start to a new story, is it? Oh well, things should be getting more interesting later on. I'm doing the best I can with this idea. Not gonna say what idea that is yet, but it'll be apparent later, most likely in the next chapter. Wait…I put it in the title, didn't I? Uh…Fröhliches Lesen!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Here we are with chapter two of "Human Alchemy". This is a very silly idea I'm working with here, so if it seems ridiculous at times, it's probably best to expect that with this. Coming up with ideas for how to progress the story is a little tricky. I'd expect some potential delays as a result. Now back to the story…**

* * *

Human Alchemy

Chapter 2

Roman Torchwick made his way through the warehouse that served as the temporary base for himself, Neo, their boss Cinder and her posse, and the White Fang forces that Cinder had strong-armed into helping her. He made sure to keep the box hidden under his coat so that no one could ask questions about it. Neo was at his side, attempting to keep up with her boss as they quickly tried to make their way to a secluded part of the warehouse complex that Roman had staked out for his little "experiment".

Neo still didn't know what her boss had planned for this "experiment" of his, but she had rarely seen him try to keep it under so much secrecy. Somehow, Roman was managing to keep Cinder in the dark as to what he was up to. Neo figured he found a way to keep Emerald and Mercury, Cinder's little helpers, from prying into his business like they normally did. They were persistent those two. And annoying.

After crossing the main warehouses, the two exited the main part of the complex and entered into the remote parts of the warehouses. The White Fang, Cinder, and the rest of their crew never ventured this far into the abandoned complex unless they were trying to hide something of great importance. For Roman, this was one such occasion.

Finally, they came to a door leading to a room in the back corner of one of the further warehouses. Roman took out a key and put into the keyhole on the doorknob. After turning it, the door unlocked. Roman pulled the door open and jerked his head, signaling Neo to go in first. The tri-colored girl followed the command and slipped inside. Roman scanned the warehouse to be sure they hadn't been followed, and silently went inside the room, closing the door behind him as he did. Once inside, he locked the door to ensure privacy.

Roman fumbled his hand on the wall as he searched for the light switch to turn on the lights in the room. Finding the switch, he flipped it up to turn on the power. The lights flickered on to reveal a curious setup. In the middle of the room, positioned towards the back outer wall, was a table with a few assorted objects placed on top of it. Behind the table was an assorted stack of boxes and crates and junk along the wall. In the middle of the tabletop was an old and worn down leather book placed on top of a metal tray, and a fairly large tray at that. On the right-hand side was a wooden bowl filled with a strange green powder. On the left-hand side were two surgical masks. Neo raised an eyebrow at her boss for the odd arrangement.

"Look, this is everything that we need for this little experiment," Roman said. "We won't be able to do this without them. Oh, and these."

Roman took the box out from under his coat and set it down on the table in front of the tray and book. He unclasped the looks on the wooden box and opened up the lid. Inside were to objects: a jewel colored blood-red and a flower that was almost as red. Neo stared at the objects with even more confusion than before. What was Roman trying to do?

Roman noticed the questioning look his assistant was giving him. "Look, all we're trying to do here is see if this little spell will work."

 _Spell?_ Neo thought. _Is he talking about magic?_

"Yes, this is a form of magic," Roman said, as if in answer to Neo's mental question.

"Alright. Let's get started." Roman set the box aside and reached for the book, removing it off the tray and setting down on the table in front of him. "Now, let's see if I got the pages right," he continued as he opened up the ancient volume.

"Oh! Before I forget. Neo, put this mask on. It's just a precaution." Roman handed his assistant one of the surgical masks. Neo took it hesitantly and put it around her face as Roman put on his.

"Okay. Finally, we can officially begin." Roman turned through the pages looking for the page he sought. Neo hung back, afraid of the potential forces Roman could unwittingly unleash.

"Aha!" Roman exclaimed as he found the proper page. "Let's see here…"

Roman reached into the box and pulled out the ruby jewel first. Then he reached over to the bowl of green powder. Bringing the bowl closer to the middle of the table, he dropped the ruby into the powder, putting his hand in to mix it around and cover the ruby in the substance. When Roman pulled the ruby out of the bowl, the powder clung to the blood-red jewel, covering it completely. Roman then did the same with the red flower, a rose, and the powder clung to the rose as much as to the jewel. Roman set both of them aside once they had been dipped into the green powder.

As he scanned the page of the book, Roman reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his cigar lighter and placed it on the table next to the book, beside the ruby and the rose. Roman then walked around the table to the mess of boxes and crates along the wall. After digging around for a minute, Roman returned to the table carrying a glass jar filled with a silvery liquid Neo had never seen before. "This is why the masks were necessary. The smell can be a problem," he commented as he opened the jar. After taking out the cork keeping the substance in the jar, Roman began to pour the substance onto the tray, completely covering the surface with the strange substance. Once he had covered the tray's surface in the silver liquid, he took the ruby and the rose and held them up above the tray, dropping them into the liquid and onto the tray's surface.

"And now…comes the finishing touches."

Roman scooped up a handful of the green powder from the bowl and sprinkled it all over the mess on the tray. With the powder mixed in with the silver liquid and the two solid objects laying on the surface, Roman picked up his lighter and released the small flame. Positioning himself to avoid getting hit by any potential blast, he lowered his arm to the tray, lighting the mixture with the small amount of fire in his hand. The contact was more explosive than he anticipated.

When the flame met the mixture on the tray, it erupted in an explosion of green light and fire, replaced seconds after by a blaze of silver and red. Roman was launched back away from the table, almost crashing into Neo, who was also forced back by the intensity of the eruption. Both crashed into the wall behind them and fell unconscious.

After what seemed like an eternity, Neo regained consciousness. She looked around the room to get a sense of her surroundings. Roman was slouched against the wall, head hanging down and arms at his sides. The explosion had caused a layer of ash to gather along the walls, floor, and roof of the room. Neo looked to where the table had once stood. At first, she couldn't see it too clearly (the explosion had destroyed the lighting), but as Neo forced herself up and made her way to where Roman had attempted his experiment, she thought she could make out the outline of something that wasn't there before. _Wait. That's…not some_ thing _…more like….some_ one _!_

Once Neo had reached what remained of the table, she found herself proven right. There, laying on top of the broken table and shattered tray, was a person. Neo couldn't quite make out too many features in the near-darkness, but she could tell that it was definitely a girl. Feeling around the remains of Roman's work area, Neo found Roman's lighter and flicked it on. With the dim light, she held it close to the girl to get a better look at her. This girl had fair skin and hair that gradated from black at the roots to a dark red at the tips. There was also a lack of clothing. _Did she…was this…is this the spell Roman was trying to tinker with? If so, I wouldn't expect her to be born with clothes already on. But why does she look like a teenager?_ Neo looked around the remains of the junk in the back and found a tapestry that wasn't in too bad of shape despite the explosion, and placed it on top of the girl.

Neo walked over to her boss to check on him. Fortunately, just as she reached him, he seemed to be gaining consciousness.

"Okay…Neo…remind me…never…to do that…again," he stated slowly. Neo nodded then pointed in the direction of her discovery. "Neo, I can't see what you're pointing at. Help me up and show me."

Neo helped Roman up off the ground and guided him over to the young girl still laying underneath the makeshift blanket Neo had placed over her. Neo held the lighter over the girl so Roman could get a good look at her.

"Well…I'll be damned…it actually worked…I had no idea it would…"Roman said in disbelief.

Neo shot her boss an equally disbelieving glare. _He just risked both of our lives to try out something he didn't even think would work?!_

Roman looked down at Neo and recoiled a little at the glare she was giving him. "Okay, okay, I'll admit…this wasn't my brightest moment… Look, can we just figure out what to do with her? I didn't expect the spell to actually work, and I don't have a plan for what to do with her."

Neo just shook her in disbelief and went off to find somewhere in the warehouse they were in that they could use as a hiding place for the girl for the time being. Roman stayed with the girl, keeping an eye on the door and making sure no one other than Neo came in. _I really hope Cinder didn't hear that explosion go off_.

* * *

Cinder was in the main warehouse, looking over the plans Roman had made for Dust robberies and the approaching move to their new base at Mountain Glenn. She was focused on the map of Vale Roman had marked with future targets, attempting to eliminate ones she felt unnecessary. Then a rumble and bit of a shaking of the ground snapped her out of her focus.

"What was that?" she hissed out.

She looked around and grabbed the nearest White Fang goon, holding a tight grip around the Faunus' throat. "What just happened?"

"We don't know, ma'am. We're about to go check it out. We think it's in one of the older warehouses in the back," the grunt forced out while being choked.

Cinder released him, the grunt falling to the ground. "Then I guess you better get started on that," she said calmly as her eyes began to glow.

The White Fang grunt got up from the floor and hurried over to rally his brothers and sisters in arms. Cinder returned to her studies of Roman's targets, unable to focus as much as before. Something told her Roman had something to do with this new disturbance. _I swear to the gods, Roman, if you had anything to do with this unwelcome nuisance, I will make sure you regret it._

As the base scrambled to respond to the disturbance, the same figure that followed Roman before was watching, hidden in the rafters.

"Looks like he wasn't as subtle as he was hoping to be."

His partner suddenly appeared beside him in the rafters. "You will not believe what that Torchwick guy just did," she said in her usual whispery tone.

"What?"

"That box he had with him? It had items that he used to create life. A person."

The watcher turned to his partner and stared at her in disbelief (not that she would be able to see because of the mask). "He did not."

"He did." She pulled out a little device that displayed a recording of the whole event. Roman gathering the items; his performing the ritual; the explosion that resulted from the contact of flame to the liquid. But what caught the watcher's attention was what transpired after Roman and his little helper girl were sent flying into the wall behind them. The silver liquid began to rise as the color of fire changed from green to silver and red, morphing its shape into that of a humanoid. It then began to absorb the ruby and the rose and the shape began to appear more solidly as a human girl, with all her features becoming more defined as the heat solidified the former liquid. This was definitely some kind of magic Torchwick had messed with. When the liquid had fully transformed into the human girl, she landed onto what was left of the table and lay there unconscious.

"So. What do you think?" his partner asked as she paused the recording.

"I think the aides are _definitely_ gonna enjoy this one now."

* * *

 **AN: I probably could have done better with this, but nothing else really came to mind. This was the best I could do. Fortunately, the story can go without this kind of thing for the rest of its duration. I'll try to keep these chapters coming on a weekly basis, but if I don't it's either a lack of ideas or a terrible schedule in life. Or both. The story is going to be relatively simple from this point forward, so don't expect too many crazy things to happen. I believe that's all I need to talk about here. Fröhliches Lesen!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Finally, about time, right? Almost two months later without an update. Initially, that was intentional, since I didn't want to do anything with this while I was visiting family during late December/early January. Then my laptop started having issues that resulted in Microsoft Word not being available after a reset. Isn't technology grand? Now that I can do this again, we're finally back at it here, and I will say that this chapter isn't anything too special. Our little "watchers" are still around, and you may be seeing them more often as I go along in this story and others (it all depends on whether I feel they deserve to be included in the story in question). This story may go for another couple of chapters, depending on what I want to do with it. It may end up stretching longer than that if I feel it needs to. We'll just wait and see. Enough of my rambling, on to the chapter you've waited almost two months for…**

* * *

Human Alchemy

Chapter 3

Roman sat in the main office of the makeshift base of warehouses that the White Fang had helped him set up. He dreaded what was about to happen. As it turns out, when you try messing with forces that you're not sure what they'll do and end up creating a brand-new human unintentionally, the process of the actual creation isn't very quiet. Roman and Neo barely had enough time to hide their creation away before White Fang grunts came bursting into the warehouse where they had performed Roman's little experiment. Roman was thankful that the grunts never found the girl. She never moved an inch the whole time Roman and Neo transported her to a supply closet where the grunts weren't likely to look.

 _I've still got to figure out what to do with her._

Roman was interrupted from his thoughts by the opening of a door behind him. He did not need to turn around to see who it was. Sure enough, the black-haired, amber-eyed beauty of death came into view in the corner of Roman's eye, making her way to the desk at the back of the room. Cinder pulled the chair away from the desk and set it opposite Roman. She sat down and stared at Roman for several minutes, not uttering a word, Roman fidgeting and trying to avoid making eye contact. As the stare down continued, two bird-masked figures observed from the roof, peering down through the skylight window.

"I wonder what that little thief is going to come up with for an excuse," the female watcher whispered.

"If you'd just be quiet, we'd know when they start talking," her partner whispered angrily back.

"Oh, come on, Luten, they're not even trying to make eye contact. What makes you think they'll start anytime soon?"

"Because, Lutecia, tense situations like this never stay silent for long. If you were half the watcher you claim to be, you'd know that by now."

Below in the office, the silence continued for another uncomfortable minute. Finally, Cinder broke the silence.

"Roman, I don't like secrets being kept from me. I know you were in that warehouse when the explosion went off. I know you were up to something that you shouldn't have been doing. I've allowed a lot of freedom up until this point, and I know you wouldn't want that freedom to be taken away. So…I want the truth. What were you doing in that warehouse?"

Roman knew he couldn't keep his secret forever. He could, however, sprinkle the truth in amongst the lies. He was testing something out of simple curiosity, and what could he be testing that would seem believable? The answer was simple, almost too simple, but it was the best option.

"The truth, huh? Well, Neo and I were simply testing some explosives for potentially covering our tracks after a heist."

 _Not my best lie, but it should do its job,_ Roman thought.

"Explosives?" Cinder inquired with not-so-subtle disbelief, her face not changing from a deadpan.

"That is what I said," Roman responded.

Cinder closed her eyes, taking a deep inhale and exhaling slowly.

"Roman," she began slowly, "do I really have to remind you that using explosives during our robberies is **not** in our best interests here?"

"Apparently you do. Neo and I- "

"Don't even try laying any blame on that pet of yours. I know that this was all your idea and she just got roped into it."

"Right," Roman said, deflating a bit in his chair.

"If there's anything left of your little experiment, then dispose of it properly. I don't want any trace of it left. Got it?" Cinder made it all too clear how…displeased she was.

"Got it," Roman responded with a little fear leaking through.

"Good." Cinder stood from her seat and walked out of the office, shutting the door behind her.

Roman quietly breathed out a sigh of relief. _There is no way I just got away with that. I didn't even have to elaborate!_

Roman got out of his chair and left the office. As he walked across the warehouse, he pulled out his scroll and set a text message to Neo.

 _Meet me at the back warehouse tonight. We need to clean up our mess._

After a few seconds, Roman received a reply in the form of a thumbs up. _Really? You can't just type a simple OK?_

Back on the roof of the main office, the two watchers reviewed the conversation that had just taken place.

"So, do you think this will pan out well for him?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, it's not our job to predict. All we have to do is observe and document."

"Luten, you can be such a bore, you know that? It's fun to try and predict what's going to happen next."

"But that's not what we're here for. Now, come on. We've got other events to observe."

The two bird-masked partners left the rooftop and vanished into the shadows, off to continue their work elsewhere. Another masked figure came in to take their place.

* * *

Neo sat on a crate in the back warehouse, keeping an eye on the door leading into the warehouse from the rest of the complex. Roman had Neo sneak back in after the White Fang grunts had searched the warehouse. It was her job to ensure that nothing happened to the girl that appeared as a result of Roman's attempts at playing with magic. They hid her in one of the closets hoping the White Fang wouldn't look in there.

The bigger problem was Cinder. If she found the girl, there was no telling what she would do to her, let alone whatever fate would befall Roman and Neo for lying to Cinder. Despite his eccentricities, Neo did care for Roman. He was the only reason she wasn't in a gutter right now.

A vibration against her leg pulled Neo out of her thoughts. She was honestly glad. Her mind was starting to wander to places and memoires she'd rather forget. She pulled out her scroll to see a message from Roman.

 _Meet me at the back warehouse tonight. We need to clean up our mess._

Neo nodded to herself and sent a thumbs up as a reply. She knew it irritated him, but it was fun to mess with him from time to time.

After sending her reply, Neo looked at the time on her scroll. She had three hours until the sun set, and Roman would want to meet not long after that. Hopping down from her perch, Neo opened the door to the closet they hid the girl inside of. There was the unconscious girl, still covered in a tarp to hide her nakedness and hidden behind a wall of crates, with just enough space in between to check on her. Neo peered through the gap to make extra sure the was safe, then closed the door as she left.

 _I wonder what Roman plans on doing with her_ , Neo thought to herself as she returned to the main warehouse, concern starting to plague her mind.

Long after Neo had gone, there was slight movement under the tarp as the girl quietly shifted her sleeping position.

* * *

Cinder entered the meeting room of the main warehouse, pulling out and arranging necessary documents, all with an obvious look of displeasure on her face.

"What's gotten you in such a bad mood?" a voice asked from the doorway.

Cinder looked up at the unexpected newcomer. A bull Faunus wearing a black trench coat with red patterns on the left side stood in the doorway, the half-mask signifying him as a member of the White Fang covering the upper half of his face. His hand rested on the hilt of a sword sheathed on his left side.

"You know we're not supposed to meet for another hour, Taurus," Cinder stated as she returned to organizing her documents. "You better have a good reason for being here early."

"As a matter of fact, I do. It's about Torchwick."

Cinder glared at Adam when he mentioned the career thief's name.

"What about him?"

"Some of my men told me he caused a scene yesterday. Involving an explosion in one of the back warehouses."

"And?" Cinder inquired, impatiently waiting for the White Fang leader to get to his point.

"I don't trust Torchwick. Not only is he a human, but given his performance so far, I doubt his usefulness. If he's going to pull stunts like this again, I want him gone."

Cinder fixed the bull with a venomous stare.

"You," she began, slowly and menacingly making her way towards Adam, "do not get to make that kind of decision, unless the person in question is a member of White Fang. Torchwick is not, so the decision of whether he stays is up to me, not to you. You are also not in charge of this operation. **I am.** Your job is to ensure your people uphold their part of the plan. Do I make myself clear?"

By this point, Cinder already had her hand stretched out in an open palm, small flames dancing menacingly. Her eyes were also glowing, making her already unsettling glare directed at the bull Faunus even more intimidating.

Adam looked to the flames in Cinder's hand, then back to her eyes.

"If he causes anymore trouble, and you do nothing, then you will be the reason your plan fails."

"You clearly don't know Roman like I do, Adam," Cinder replied as she doused the flames in her hand. "Roman isn't as dumb as he sometimes appears to be. He'll do whatever it takes to ensure his survival. I spoke to him earlier today about yesterday's incident. I know he lied to me about what he was doing, but given what he has done for us, it's much more beneficial to keep him around. He'll have plenty of time to clean up whatever is left of his mess. Let's hope he doesn't waste it."

The bull Faunus simple turned his back and made his way to the door. Just as he was about to enter the hallway, he stopped and turned his head toward Cinder. "You're too soft on him."

With that, the bull Faunus left the room, leaving Cinder to contemplate his words. Neither noticed a shadow slither away…

* * *

 **AN: I'm going to get plenty of questions about these shadows and bird-masked people, I can already tell. Oh, well. Patience will pay off.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: First of all, sorry for not getting this up when I said I would on my profile. was being very strange that day. Secondly, there's some stuff I want to say at the end of this chapter. I'd appreciate it if you stuck around for that. Back to the story…**

* * *

Human Alchemy

Chapter 4

The night was dark, darker than it had been previously in the week. The broken moon shone bright in contrast, displaying its brilliance in the cloudless sky. Roman Torchwick loved these kinds of nights, even if they were a form of double-edged sword in his line of work.

Torchwick currently stood next to the exit door of the warehouse where his troubles began. The same warehouse where he performed the magic ritual that created a human girl out of nothing more than a rose and a ruby gem. The same warehouse where said girl was currently hiding in a supply closet that the White Fang miraculously missed every time they went in there. So, not only had Roman messed with magic forces that he shouldn't have been that ended up creating a human life, but now Roman was trying to keep that same life secret from Cinder, lest he incur her wrath over first, lying, and second, keeping something like this a secret from her. There was a lot at risk right now, and Roman could not afford to make a single mistake.

Fortunately, Torchwick already had a plan in place. Torchwick was set to meet with an old…acquaintance of his further into town. Hei "Junior" Xiong. Relations between men like Torchwick and Junior tended to be…tense. Neither men liked the other, but they did work together if there was enough of a mutual benefit. The two used to be on more friendly terms, but all it took was one night to sour them something fierce.

 _It was a fun evening while it lasted…_ Torchwick reminisced. There was a reason the two maintained very limited contact since then. But, given the situation involving the aforementioned teenaged girl still hiding and sleeping in a supply closet, Torchwick needed Junior's help, even if he had to swallow a bit of his pride in order to do so.

As Torchwick waited for his meeting with Junior, Neo stood guard in front of the door to their little closet of secrets. Neo had started to care quite deeply for their little creation over the past few days. Torchwick himself didn't seem to like that connection, but he never said anything about it. And if he was being honest, the lack of movement and noise from the girl over the last several days was causing a good amount of worry for Roman himself. Neo had seen the girl in different sleeping positions every time she checked on the girl, so they knew she was alive, at least. Despite that bit of good news however, the lack of any additional movement or any form of noise were major causes for concern.

Neo checked the time on her scroll. One more hour until Roman had to meet with Junior at his club. Hopefully, Junior could help them figure out a solution. Just then, some shuffling inside the closet caught Neo's ear. Neo reached over to the doorknob to make sure nothing was happening to the girl they were keeping in there. She froze before her hand touched the doorknob. There was a crashing sound coming from inside the closet. Roman was standing next to Neo in a heartbeat, looking behind them to the warehouse's main entrance to ensure no one from the rest of the complex came barging in. Neo moved out of the way as Roman reached to open the door. Slowly, he turned to the doorknob and pulled the door open.

As the light of the warehouse poured into the closet, Roman and Neo were greeted with an awkward sight. Sure enough, there were crates laying scattered and toppled over in the middle of the closet, making walking in there difficult, but not impossible. At the back wall of the closet, a figure sat recoiled from the bright lights that came into the room. Slowly, the girl turned to face her visitors as her eyes adjusted to the light. Her face immediately showed an expression of fear, never having set her silver eyes on the two people who stood in the doorway, looking at her with worried expressions. The black and red-haired girl still held the tarp around her body, making herself as decent as one could in her situation.

Roman entered as slowly as he could manage over the collapsed crates without scaring the girl, leaning his cane on one of the shelves.

"Hey, there," Roman said in the softest and gentlest tone as he knew how to do. "It's alright. We're not going to hurt you. We're friends. We're here to help."

The girl shifted away as much as she could as Roman continued his approach. Neo looked on as Roman used his specialized brand of smooth-talk to calm the girl down and get her to trust him. It was the same kind of talking that brought Neo under his wing after he found her in less-than-desirable living conditions. Neo had worked to block out those memories of abandonment and isolation, being shown acts of kindness that were few and far between. If Neo could see those who scorned her again-

"Neo?"

Neo shook her head to clear her mind of unpleasant thoughts. She looked to see Roman right next to the girl. He had managed to get right next to the girl, who seemed to be a lot more relaxed than she was previously when they first entered her hiding hole.

 _Just how long did I get lost in my thoughts?_

"Neo, go grab some clothes for the girl. And use your Semblance to do it. We don't want people asking questions."

Neo nodded an affirmative before disappearing in the flash characteristic of her Semblance. The silver-eyed girl next to Roman jumped in fright at the sight of Neo disappearing in a bright flash.

"Hey! It's okay, she's fine," Roman soothed as the girl started breathing rapidly from the scare. "She just went to get you some clothes now that you're awake. We can't have you walking around with a tarp covering you up all the time."

The girl visibly calmed down, her breathing returning to normal. She turned to look at Roman, her face growing confused at his words. She opened her mouth to speak…but no sounds came forth. All she could manage was trying to mouth the words Roman had spoken.

 _Oh, gods_ , Roman thought to himself. _This problem just got a lot worse._

* * *

Cinder was once again in the main office of the warehouses she was forced to share with her peons as their main base of operations, sitting behind the desk towards the back of the office. The frustrations of the past week were starting to get to her.

First was the White Fang. So far, Adam Taurus had been remarkably loyal, but his distrust of Torchwick simply for being human was causing a strain on relations. That, and Taurus was not yet completely loyal. A small detail that could be fixed, given time. It was his worthless grunts that were the main problem. The only person they seemed to be loyal to was Adam himself, which made working with them a bigger pain than was necessary. Even when Adam gave them orders to follow Cinder's command, there was still major dissent. To make matters worse, they were practically Adam's personal spy ring, always filling him in on their operations behind Cinder's back. If Cinder could only find a way to motivate the Faunus extremists, she wouldn't have to deal with this morale issue.

The biggest problem, however, was Roman Torchwick. His escapade in the back warehouses was the talk of the base, with no one knowing what exactly he was doing in those remote buildings that were almost never used. All anyone knew was that whatever he was doing caused an explosion, the precise cause of which no one could seem to figure out, as any evidence was wiped out by the blast. Whatever happened, Torchwick and his little helper girl Neo had been spending a lot of time in that warehouse since that day. Cinder knew that he had lied to her about his purpose in that warehouse the night the blast happened, but she was too busy trying to make sure everything was proceeding as smoothly as she needed and that everything was in place for their upcoming heists. Hopefully, Torchwick was cleaning up whatever mess was left over from his antics. If not, Cinder was going to have to take more direct involvement in this matter. Cinder was still asking herself why she hadn't already despite her busy schedule.

Cinder was pulled from her thoughts by a sudden clicking noise coming from the shadows of the office. She froze in fear as a new figure entered into the light.

A spherical shape covered in bone-like plates with a single eye approached the desk, red tentacles ending in white, bony barbs hanging from the orb. This wasn't some random creature. This was a Grimm. This was kind of Grimm was a Seer and only a select few in the whole of Remnant had encountered them. And all of them had one connection. The Queen.

Sure enough, when the Seer stopped on the other side of the desk from Cinder, the visage of Salem herself appeared in the black orb.

"Cinder," she greeted in a calm manner.

"Your Grace," Cinder returned, bowing her head in respect and thankful that she locked the door to the office when she walked in.

"It has been quite a while since you last reported to me. I trust you haven't avoided our conversations for any reason."

The suspicion and displeasure was evident in the Queen's voice. Salem wasn't one to hide such emotions.

"O-Of course not!" Cinder answered hastily, lifting her head to look at Salem. "I've just been busy preparing everything for our plans."

Cinder hung her head back down when she saw Salem's expression. She didn't seem to buy it.

"You wouldn't be experiencing difficulties of any kind, would you?"

Cinder considered her answer carefully before proceeding. It was true that she had been experiencing difficulties, from just about all sides, but Cinder was confident that she could make everything work. Bringing up the White Fang was not worth it. The solution to that problem would be simple once Cinder figured it out. There was only one other trouble of note…

"Roman Torchwick caused a stir recently."

There was a pause on Salem's end.

"How recently?" The tone in Salem's voice made it clear that she wasn't pleased with where this was headed.

"Several days ago. I've entrusted with him cleaning his mess up personally while I try to ensure- "

Cinder was cut off as one of the Seer's tentacles wrapped itself around Cinder's wrists, binding them together. The Seer then pulled Cinder forward, knocking her into the desk as the upper half of her body laid across the top of the desk. Cinder's eyes went wide with fear as one of the barbs was pointed right between her eyes.

"I'm disappointed in you, Cinder. I thought placing you in charge of this operation would be beneficial. And yet, it seems you are proving me wrong. You have made some mistakes in your leadership that cannot go ignored. You are going to tell me everything you know about this… 'stir' that Torchwick has caused. After that…I'll show you how to correct the mistake you have made in your leadership."

* * *

From his hiding place in the shadows, Luten the watcher observed Cinder's meeting with Salem.

He wasn't surprised that Salem would show up after a magical event had occurred. He was also not surprised at how she treated the pawn named Cinder Fall. Why the lack of surprise? Luten's kind had been watching Salem since her beginnings. They knew what she was after and what was likely to draw her attention. He would of have been more surprised had Salem not shown her face at some point.

As Salem began pressing Cinder for information about Torchwick, Luten felt a presence join him in the shadows. It was a presence he associated with annoyance.

 _Did I miss anything?_ came the mental voice of his partner Lutecia.

 _No. You actually came just in time to see Fire Lady Cinder get interrogated by her boss._

 _Salem._ Lutecia fell silent, much to Luten's surprise. The two continued to watch on as Cinder began explaining what she knew of Roman's escapades to Salem, all with fear etched across her features.

As Cinder neared the end of her ramblings, Lutecia finally commented. _I'm worried about Salem. She is one person who could potentially do us harm. If she knew of us_.

Luten spared a glance over to his partner. Care-free she may be, but she knew how to recognize a threat to their kind when she saw one. And Luten had to agree: In all the versions of Remnant they had their eyes on, there were always two people they knew to be careful around, lest they risk their people and existence. And one of them was Salem. The scholars might not yet understand her powers completely, but the current prospects were not good.

 _I think we agree on something for once,_ he voiced mentally. _Fortunately, we may not have to worry about this one._

 _It doesn't matter which one it is_ , Lutecia voiced. _She'll be the end of us no matter what._

* * *

 **AN: I'm going to be perfectly honest here. I wasn't really putting much effort into writing this story when I first started it. Part of that was because, while I may have had a plan in mind of where I wanted it to go, I guess you could say I wasn't confident in the plan that I had. Now, however, I've got a much more solid idea of what's going to happen in future chapters and I'm feeling a lot better about this story because of that. This one is going to be longer than what I originally intended, but a few extra chapters never hurt anyone. All I can say about where this story is going is that our little silver-eyed friend won't be with Roman and Neo for too much longer. With that said, see you in the next one.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I want to apologize for how late this is coming out. I've been busy in the past couple of weeks and I'm out of town at the time of typing this, so my updating schedule is kind of out of whack right now (people still say "out of whack" right?). Regardless, I'll try to stay consistent with updating this story as much as I can, but no guarantees. I'll still put the chapters up, just not always when I intend. That's just a heads-up before I get into the actual chapter. So, moving right along…**

* * *

Human Alchemy

Chapter 5

Roman Torchwick made his way through the darkened streets of Vale, his path illuminated by the city's distinctive streetlamps. He knew Junior's club would be busy at this hour, dozens of younger people out on the dance floor with loud electronics threatening to burst your eardrums. How people could enjoy that kind of ear-rape was beyond Roman. He never cared for it. But despite that, Torchwick had to meet with him.

Junior's club was located in the more industrial part of town. It was surrounded by offices, light factories, and storage buildings used by a number of companies, businesses, etc. Roman had committed a few robberies in this area, back before his falling-out with Junior. Since then, he rarely came to this part of Vale. It was, essentially, hostile territory. The only way he could pass through safely was if he alerted Junior beforehand when he needed to talk. This was one of those occasions.

The reason for this particular meet was…unique. A certain silver-eyed girl that only existed because Torchwick let his curiosity get the better of him. The good news was that she was proven to be alive and well, thanks to her accidentally knocking over her protective barrier of storage crates when she shifted her sleeping position. The bad news? Outside of Neo-levels of being mute, which itself wasn't inherently bad, this girl seemed to know nothing. No knowledge. Of anything. Her mind appeared to be a blank slate, ready to absorb any knowledge it was given. That made Roman's job that much harder. Not only did he have to get her out of the warehouses before Cinder found out about her, but Torchwick and Neo needed to teach her a lot of topics, even if they were just broad and basic explanations, in a short amount of time, even if they just covered the most basic of things, all so that she could at least attempt to act/appear normal to whoever Junior picked out to be her new caretaker.

 _Assuming he even agrees to help me out of this little scenario_.

Fortunately, the girl's ignorance-at-birth didn't make her a slow learner. She was actually a very quick learner. She had already figured out how to speak (by speak, think "make sounds") by the time Roman had left. It sounded like she was pretty close to speaking actual words instead of just sounds. Roman had to admit he was surprised by these circumstances, but what else could you expect from someone who was born during an alchemical experiment?

Finally, after walking for what seemed like hours and getting lost in his thoughts, the deceptive façade of Junior's club came into Roman's view. On the outside, it may look like just another grouping of offices and storage space, but inside, it was actually the most popular nighttime venue in the city of Vale. Junior might be a criminal in many respects, but he knew how to put up a front to avoid suspicion.

Roman crossed the street in front of the club and made his way to the front entrance. The entrance was unguarded. Roman thought that was more than a little odd. Normally, clubs like this had men outside checking everyone who came in. After pushing open the front door, Roman entered a foyer shrouded in darkness, only a few scattered pieces of furniture laying about. The only lights that shone in this room were the pulsing lights on the other side of the double sliding doors that led into the club proper. Roman walked over to the sliding doors, which opened to reveal the club that was frequented by many of Vale's partygoers. As he entered the club, he was hit with the loud and, to him, obnoxious sounds common of all nightclubs: the electronic beating emanating from the giant speakers behind the DJ and the random yells and screams of those on the dance floor.

 _At least some people can find enjoyment in this incredibly annoying setting_ , Roman thought to himself.

Making his way around the dance floor as descended the stairs, Roman searched for the club's famous owner. It didn't take him long to spot him despite the flickering and distracting lights.

Junior was off to the side at the bar talking to one of his men, his female bodyguards known as the Malachite twins at his side, as usual. Neo had gotten into some trouble with the Malachites on several occasions, but Roman didn't care about their little skirmishes. So long as it didn't get too serious, he let Neo have her fun with them. Roman himself was still trying to figure out if they were Junior's blood-relatives.

Torchwick finished his approach towards Junior, stopping just inside of the club owner's peripheral vision. Junior took notice and sent his man away. When the goon had gone, Junior turned to his appointment.

"My office. We'll talk there," he stated simply in his gruff voice.

Roman nodded and followed Junior to the back of the main club, entering a small labyrinth of back rooms, a mix of storage closets, break rooms, and even makeshift barracks for Junior's goons. Junior's office was in the middle of this cramped maze. Opening the door, Junior gestured for Roman to take a seat as he moved to sit behind his desk, which was currently covered in all sorts of important documents. After Roman took his seat, Junior sent the Malachite twins to stand guard outside the office door while Roman took out one of his cigars and began smoking it. Once the Malachites were gone and the door was closed, Junior turned his attention towards Roman, sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed in front of his chest. It was down to business.

"I hate your guts, you know that?"

Or not.

Torchwick sighed as he responded, cigar left in his mouth, more than a little irritated that they were doing this again. "Yeah. You mention it every single time I interact with you. By the way, do you really have to do that every time?"

"Yes! All because you screwed up the one job that could have made us both rich, like we had been talking about for a few years at that point!" Junior yelled as he stood from his seat, hands landing on the desk.

"Oh for the love of- You're still on about that?" Roman asked with incredible disbelief, as he himself stood, mimicking Junior's movement. "May I remind you that I didn't ask for this meeting just so you could berate me about a job from six years ago for the umpteenth time!?" Roman held out an accusatory finger as he said this.

"I only bring it up this time so that you can give me a good reason why I should help you. I know that this involves a mess you yourself created and can't clean up alone. So, tell me why I should care!" Junior replied as he began glaring daggers at Roman, leaning forward slightly as he did.

Here, he had Roman beat. Taking his seat, Roman went back to smoking his cigar, waiting for Junior to sit down himself so that Torchwick could begin explaining. Fortunately, Junior seemed to take the hint.

"You're right," Roman said after Junior had sat down again, arms once again crossed. "This is another mess I made that I need help cleaning up. Well, clean up on my own and not draw suspicion to myself."

Junior just sat there staring at Roman, waiting for the thief to continue.

"Right. I'll cut to the chase. I need you to get someone out of Vale for me. Get them out of the city discreetly, with only a select few knowing about it. And no, it's not me and it's not Neo. It's someone else entirely."

That last bit seemed to catch Junior by surprise, as his eyebrows rose ever so slightly at that revelation.

"This is someone that just recently appeared in our lives. My boss, Cinder, doesn't know about this girl and it's best that it stays that way. Which is why I'm asking you to find somewhere to send her. The further away she is, the better."

Junior sat back, placing a hand to his chin as he thought about Roman's information. "Why get rid of this person like that? Is she a threat to your boss?"

"A threat, no. Someone who doesn't have an obvious use? Yes. That alone has made Cinder take people out of the picture before. Trust me, the girl Neo and I have hidden away right now is better off being as far away from Cinder as possible."

"How old is this girl?"

"She's a teenager. About 15, I'd say. She doesn't talk much and Neo and I are working on her education while she's still in our care. But she needs someone who is better equipped to handle that if she's going to do anything in this world. Even better if they can teach her how to fight. That's something we can start, but someone else will have to polish it."

Junior's eyebrows became furrowed in concentration as he looked off the side, clearly thinking the proposal over.

"I may have a few ideas. Can't risk the Huntsman Academies, especially as far as people like us are concerned. But, as I told you earlier, I'm gonna need some incentive. There better be something good in this for me if I'm gonna hide your girl away."

"You mean, what can I offer you outside of my eternal gratitude?" Roman jokingly asked. Junior's face at that question told him this wasn't a joke.

"Very well," Roman relented. "I have a substantial amount of Lien stashed away for a rainy day. I've got more than enough to spare from that fund. I also have some Dust that needs to get disposed of because our current warehouses can't hold all of it."

"How much Dust?" Junior asked, surprisingly more interested now that Dust was added to the mix.

"Enough to power the weapons of a small army for about 8 months, if rationed well," came the thief's reply.

Junior went even deeper into thought with this new bit of information. He stayed silent for several minutes while Roman continued smoking his cigar, waiting for Junior's answer. Finally, Junior chuckled to himself and turned back to Roman.

"Torchwick…you have no idea what you've just done for me."

"No, I don't," Roman said uneasily as he lowered the cigar from his mouth, "but I have a feeling you're going to give an explanation."

"You see," Junior began, "there's a group that operates in Anima that I've been doing business with lately. They're a bunch of bandits living in the wilds, but their raids haven't been doing well, lately. They came to me asking for supplies, including Dust. I've been doing my best to supply them, but there's only so much I can do, and my men are worthless. You've seen why."

Roman simply nodded, gesturing for Junior to continue. He had a feeling he knew where this was headed.

"How about I propose a deal to you? I'll help you hide away your little girl and make sure she gets a nice new little home, and in return, you send the Dust you can't hold in your warehouses my way, in addition to any other specified supplies as needed, so I can keep up the demand of my clients. And if you're worried about Cinder, I have an idea about some people we could call on, if she ends up moving against you."

Now it was Roman's turn to think things over. On the one hand, Roman could get the girl out of harm's way with Cinder never knowing she was there to begin with. He'd be helping out someone who used to be a friend, which may lead to improved relations between the two. And he had some people to call on should Cinder turn on him. On the other hand, it sounded as if Junior was going to need a lot of Dust, and if he needed more Dust than what would be in the excess, Cinder was going to take notice. If he couldn't deliver on a shipment, then relations with Junior could go back to their status quo of the past six years. And despite Junior's offer of a lifeline in case Cinder did turn on him, Roman doubted that whoever Junior had in mind for that scenario would be able to stand up to Cinder in an actual fight. There was a lot of risk in accepting this deal, but Junior wasn't one to negotiate a deal he himself proposed and Roman didn't have the time to argue about it.

"Very well," Roman said after a moment's time to think it over. He stood up from his chair with Junior following suit. "I guess it's a deal."

"Excellent!" Junior replied.

And with that, a shake of the hands sealed the deal.

 _I just hope everything works out as planned_ , Roman thought as he left the club.

* * *

It was two hours after Roman Torchwick had left Junior's club. Most of Junior's customers had gone home by this point, as well, the stragglers having to be escorted out by Junior's goons.

Hei "Junior" Xiong still sat in his office, thinking over his meeting with Torchwick. Junior still didn't like Torchwick, but held the thief and formed friend in higher esteem than he had before their meeting, having been provided a way out of a very sticky situation. It was just a happy coincidence that the outcome helped Torchwick out with his problem. Two birds, one stone, right?

 _Speaking of birds…_

Junior reached for his scroll and held it up in front of him. He searched through his list of classified contacts until he found the one he was looking for. Hitting the call button, his scroll started ringing as it attempted to reach the scroll of his contact. Junior held the device up to his ear as he waited for a response. Finally, after three rings, someone answered.

"What is it, Xiong?" a gravelly voice asked, annoyance seeping through his words.

"I have good news for you," the club owner responded. "Turns out you'll be able to get the Dust you requested, plus some extra. Rationed well enough, it will last you about 8 months."

The man on the other end went quiet. "Are you serious about this, Xiong?" he finally asked after a minute's worth of silence.

"I wouldn't be calling if it were a joke. I arranged the deal today," Junior answered.

"I'll pass the word along to my sister. We'll set up a meet within the next week."

"Right. Oh, and before I forget, there may be a little bonus."

"Bonus? What kind of bonus?"

"An old…acquaintance of mine came by earlier today. He's the one who will be providing the Dust. He also has a prospective new member for your tribe."

The man on the other end paused yet again.

"How good are they? Do they have any combat skills?"

"Don't know as of yet, but is sounds as if that's one of the things he's trying to work on with her. He said he's working on 'educating' her, whatever that means. Knowing him, however, combat will be high on that list."

"Hm…taking on a new member isn't something we do lightly. What is he trying to do with 'her', get her out of some place or other?"

"That's basically what he told me. It sounded pretty urgent, too."

"Well, then…I'll call back when we've had a chance to discuss this. For now, gather that Dust in preparation for our next meeting. Heh. Looks like you may have just saved your skin, Xiong."

"Right. Good night, then, Mr. Branwen."

"Yeah."

As he hung up, Junior couldn't help but smile to himself and breathe a sigh of relief. So far, it looked like Hei "Junior" Xiong was back in high standing with the infamous Branwen Tribe.

* * *

 **AN: No, your eyes do not deceive you. The Branwen Tribe. I'm bringing in the infamous family of Raven and Qrow (take a guess as to which one Junior was calling). Now since she'll be playing a larger role, I feel like I should say a little bit more about Roman's alchemically-created girl. First of all, I don't think it's that hard to figure out who it is. (Of course, I say that, but I'm the one writing this thing.) Second of all, this is someone who may appear to be a bit out of character once she starts playing said bigger role, more or less (I'm not entirely sure if she is OOC), but that's just the kind of thing that results from a story like this. Anyway, we're starting to get to the final parts of the story. We'll have at least 3 more chapters left before I end it off. There might be a little chapter that acts as a time skip to give an idea of what happens afterward, but we'll just wait and see. See you in the next one!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: It's about time, right? I apologize immensely for the long break. I was out of town for a few days, and then I left my computer cord in a hotel, which meant I couldn't get much done because my computer probably would have died in the middle of it, I spent a few weeks at most without a cord, and I just neglected writing because of that craziness. That and I've had a job recently that takes time away from working on this stuff. So, I can't apologize enough for the long wait, but things just happened. And because of those long breaks and interruptions, the writing for this chapter may not be that good. Just saying. With that said, I don't plan on doing too many more chapters for this particular story. I'm planning around 4 more chapters before this story ends. And no, this one won't have a cliffhanger for an ending this time. Just a warning as we get closer to that point. Anyway, here you go…**

* * *

Human Alchemy

Chapter 6

2 months after Junior's deal

Roman made his way through the same empty hallways to the same remote warehouse he had been visiting for the past couple of months. It was safe to say that his life had become an absolute mess since that girl entered the picture.

Roman and Neo were being the caretakers for a teenage-looking girl who only existed because Roman wanted to dabble in magic; Cinder was breathing down Roman's neck harder than ever compared to the immediate aftermath of that experiment, constantly breaking into the warehouse with some animals from the White Fang and searching the building for hours before leaving; Junior had yet to inform Roman of his progress in finding a home for Red, as Roman had taken to calling her; and as quick as a learner Red was proving to be, she was having to cram the most basic of information into her brain far faster than anyone should have to.

Roman was snapped out of those thoughts by some movement that occurred in the corner of his eye. He brought up his cane in its firing configuration, ready to unleash one of his signature explosive blasts. By the time he did so, however, whatever moved, if anything had moved to begin with, was already gone. The fact that Roman thought something had moved at all was strange. There wasn't a single thing in the hallway that could have done it, since it was devoid of any life outside of Roman himself.

"Well, then. If seeing things that aren't there is starting to happen, then that's a sure sign this stress is getting to me. I'll be happy when this is all over…"

Continuing his journey through the maze of hallways, Roman eventually reached his destination. Opening the same door he had become accustomed to reaching almost every day, he turned the door handle and went inside. The sight to which he was greeted was that of Red and Neo sitting in the middle of the open space, apparently at the end of something the two found particularly funny. Red was laughing rather hard, while Neo simply bounced along to her usual silent chuckles. Roman had no idea what had these two in such a fit, but at least they were enjoying themselves. Which sadly would not be the case for that much longer, if Junior picked up his slack.

"Ahem," Roman announced as he proceeded into the little sitting area the two had made for themselves. Both Red and Neo were sitting in some old chairs they found lying around, with a third one in front of where Roman currently stood facing them. A nice little triangle formation, with a small low table in the middle. Where they got all that stuff, Roman could only guess. Both girls slowly started to compose themselves once they noticed Roman.

"Hi, Roman," Red greeted after her laughter subsided. Neo simply offered a wave.

"Hey there, Red," Roman returned. Now, there were two reasons Roman had started calling his little creation "Red". Reason the first? The red tips at the ends of her dark hair, courtesy of the rose used in her creation. Reason the second? She always favored outfits that had red in them. Every. Single. Time. Roman couldn't really complain about it since it made finding outfits for her just a little easier. Doesn't mean he still found it odd, though. If there was one thing she had in common with Cinder, it was that.

"So, what are you doing here?" Red inquired. "I thought you were busy helping your boss."

"Nah, I took care of that already. Our next heist is all prepped and ready to go. Just need to wait for the right time to head out. As for why I'm here…well, there's some important business the three of us need to discuss."

Roman sat himself down to make himself more comfortable for this conversation. He hadn't yet told Red about his meeting with Junior, about Cinder, about what he was planning, not even how she was created. He was planning on changing that tonight.

"Here's the short version of the story, Red," Roman began as the girl in question looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Neo and I have been keeping some stuff secret from you. And I think it's about time we filled you in."

Red's expression didn't really change much, but it did show a little more interest than it did confusion.

"To get the ball rolling for this conversation, let me ask you something. Do you know why Neo and I have been cramming all sorts of info into your head for the past couple of months? Outside of this info being basic stuff you need to know?"

Red looked away as she thought it over. Roman could tell from the look on her face that she was drawing a blank.

"Not really, no," she finally said as she turned to face Roman again. "I've tried asking before, but neither of you would give me a straight answer than this was stuff I needed to know."

"That was for a reason. What Neo and I have been attempting to do is preparing you for the world outside. You won't be staying in this dirty old warehouse forever."

"Why is that?" Red asked, with an innocence that made Roman a little bit reluctant to explain the situation. But only a little.

"For the simple fact that there are people in this maze of warehouses that you are not safe around. And that, since Neo and I are involved with them, being in close proximity to us puts you at risk of being discovered."

"Does that include your boss?"

"Yes. Especially my boss. In fact, she's at the top of the list of people who would harm you if she knew you were here."

"Okay…why is that? You're not exactly making this any easier to understand."

"Well…that's because the reason you're even in this world in the first place is…unusual."

Red simply looked at Roman in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The way people are normally brought into this world is a man and a woman fall in love, they…have some fun in a bedroom (I'll explain what that is later), and after nine months or so, the woman has a baby. That's just the condensed version, mind you. That's not what happened with you."

"Okay….so how was I born?"

Roman was silent for a minute before finally answering. "It was…how should I say this…more of an artificial accident. Now, I'll admit, I'm not known for using my brains. I've dabbled in little hobbies here and there in the past that I really had no business messing with. Magic is one of them."

Red jumped back in surprise, as if doing a double take. "Wait, magic? I thought you said magic wasn't real? That is was just illusions."

"I did say that. But, there's actually some truth to it. I decided to dabble in a type of magic known as 'alchemy'. And when I tried a certain ritual…well, you were lying in the middle of the floor where once was a table and some ingredients for said ritual."

"So, wait…I was created from a bunch of materials you brought together just to see what they would do?"

"That about sums it up, yes."

Roman could tell that Red didn't like what she was hearing. He didn't like it either, but he had to tell her some time.

"And what does that have to do with your boss?"

"To be honest, I don't know much about my boss. I only know that her name is Cinder and that she's involved in some extremely shady things. Things that would probably be way above my head. But I do know that she's aware of the existence of magic and is trying to get her hands on a powerful source of it. That's as far as I was able to dig without being found out. If she found out that someone who was created through magic was hiding in the same warehouse that she's operating out of, it wouldn't end well."

"Oh. I see…" came Red's reply. Her voice sounded uneasy. "So…what exactly did you use to create me? What were the materials you used?"

"Well, outside of some random powders and what-not…there were two primary ingredients: a ruby and a rose. Just had to mix those in with the powders and fluids needed and that was about it. Caused one hell of an explosion, though."

Red was surprised at that last statement.

"Anyway, since you were created through magic and Cinder would likely incinerate you once she found out, our top priority is getting you out of here as soon as possible. I have a contact that is trying to find a good spot for you while Neo and I try to teach you as much as we can to make sure you're ready for what's out there in the world."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Red asked. "Is getting rid of me like that really going to make things better? The system we've been using so far seems to have worked. Why can't we just keep following that?"

"Listen, Red. I understand why you're asking that, but with the amount of pressure Cinder has been putting on us, that's not going to work for long. She'll find out eventually. The longer you stay here, the longer you're at risk."

"But, if you've managed to hide me from your boss for this long, can't you keep doing it? Just find different places for me to hide or something?"

"That system only works for so long, Red. Eventually, we'd be found out and Cinder would come after us with a fury that I really do not want to think about. Trust me on this, getting you as far away from here as possible, under someone else's tutelage, would do you a lot of good. And that's in general, not just for your safety."

"But why? Do you not want me around anymore? Is that it? Have you gotten fed up with trying to take care of me?"

"No! Don't ever think like that. I'm doing this because it's the best way to keep you safe from whatever Cinder could possibly do to you if she were to find out you were here!"

"But how-"

"I'm not going to argue about this, Red!" Roman yelled as he stood up from his chair. "We need to get you out of here as soon as possible and we need to make sure you're ready to survive out there! That is final! If we can't get that done, we may as well just hand you over to Cinder right now!"

Red had been taken aback by Roman's outburst. She got up from her seat and ran into one of the smaller rooms of the warehouse, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

Roman merely stayed where he was, feeling a small bit of guilt but not really regretting it. They did have to work on getting Red out of here, whether any of them liked it or not. As much as he liked the kid, she wasn't safe here. Especially since she wouldn't be able to defend herself.

Neo was surprised at Roman's reaction, looking at him with disbelief on her face. Over the past couple of months, the three had built up a surprisingly nice relationship, a good rapport. Something like this had never happened before. But, knowing Roman and from what her personal experiences were, Neo had a feeling an outburst would happen at some point. She just hoped it wouldn't.

After a minute of silence, Roman picked up his cane and headed for the door. As he held his hand to the doorknob, he turned back to Neo and said, "Keep an eye on her. Tell me immediately if something happens."

With that, Roman opened the door and wandered back into the maze of hallways. As Neo watched him go, she hoped he hadn't caused more trouble than they already had.

* * *

A meeting. A boring, boring meeting. Roman couldn't believe that even criminals had to endure these snorefests. Cinder was currently going off on something about needing to hit more Dust stores or some such scheme. That woman was obsessed with her "evil plans".

"The White Fang needs to start pulling more of their weight," Cinder kept going in her lecture, "We may have a lot of Vale's underworld helping us, but the White Fang isn't performing as well as they should. I thought you said you would motivate your people to help us out more, Adam." Here, she turned to the bull Faunus she was addressing.

"I would, but they don't like the idea of working with, let alone for, humans," the White Fang leader responded. "They won't pick up the slack unless they get something a lot better than what you've promised us."

"My hands are tied, Adam. I can't offer you more than I already have. If you're that adamant about it, I'm sure my own boss would be more than happy to hear your plea," Cinder returned, with no small amount of sarcasm evident in her voice toward the end.

Roman simply sat on the side trying to stay awake. These meetings always devolved to Cinder and Adam going at it because "Faunus this" and "Faunus that". Roman sometimes wished he could shut Adam up himself and just slap collars on those White Fang animals. Roman didn't hate Faunus themselves, he just hated the extremists like Adam and the rest of the White Fang because of their endless rhetoric and refusal to do anything if it even remotely benefitted humans.

All of a sudden, Roman felt a vibration against his leg, causing him to jump in his seat.

"Falling asleep again, Torchwick?" Cinder asked when she saw Roman jump.

"No, I just felt my Scroll vibrate." Cinder just ignored him and continued arguing with Adam.

Roman discreetly checked his Scroll, trying not to listen to whatever it was Adam was trying to throw Cinder's way. A message from Neo was on the screen. _What could Neo want?_

Roman found his answer. He nearly dropped his Scroll to the ground as his eyes widened in shock. Noticing his fumble, Cinder and Adam stopped their arguing, for once, and turned their attention towards him. "Anything you wish to share, Roman?" Cinder asked.

"Yeah…um…" _Think of something quick!_ "I had Neo check the warehouse again and it turns out there's something we overlooked. She called me over to take care of it."

Cinder's face contorted into a face of anger, but it quickly vanished. Adopting a neutral face, she simply said, "Take care of it." The tone of her voice made it clear Roman would be in trouble later.

Taking his cue to leave, Roman ran out of the building, Neo's message flashing across his mind again and again as he weaved through the same maze he had grown accustomed to navigating. _She didn't. There's no way she did._

Finally reaching the door to the same familiar warehouse, Roman forced his way inside. In the middle of the warehouse stood Neo, looking frantic and worried. The warehouse itself was in a state, contents strewn about everywhere, no doubt from whatever search Neo had been conducting before Roman's arrival. Neo finally looked to Roman and pointed at one of the windows along the wall.

Sure enough, when Roman looked, the window was open.

 _Oh, no…_

Roman looked back to his Scroll, Neo's message still displayed on the screen.

 _She's gone._

* * *

 **AN: Fun fact, I was actually going to do something else here, but felt that this direction would probably be better. So now that this chapter is finally out, I'm going to focus as much of my free time as I can to finishing this story up. I've been putting it off for different reasons for too long and I really need to get the ball rolling for the finale. Hopefully, it won't take nearly as long as this chapter did, but with my current work schedule, I have no clue how successful I'll be in that regard. In the past, I've tried to have these chapters uploaded on Fridays, but going forward, I'm not going to keep a schedule. I upload when I upload. For now,** **auf Wiedersehen!**


	7. Overdue Update

**Hello, once again, ladies and gentlemen. I know that it has been quite a while since last put up any kind of update on here. Simply put, I had gotten a job that was very draining for me. I was not at all in the mood or had the energy to try to work on any of the story ideas I've been meaning to put up here.**

 **The good news is I'm no longer working at that job, so my schedule has been freed from that stressful place. That means that I'll also have more time to devote to working on stories again.**

 **Now for the bad news. I'm placing on Human Alchemy on hold for now. It's already been sitting there for a long time, and I do intend on going back and actually finishing it. I just want to try my hand with some of the other ideas while working on the final chapters for that one.**

 **Anyway, I'm going to start working out a few ideas, trying to get something concrete for you guys as soon as possible. I can't guarantee anything as far as when that will be, but I'll try not to take over a year on it this time.**

 **Until next time!**


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